, Bangalore, India) with composition of 5% fat, 21% protein, 55% nitrogen-free extract, and 4% fiber (w/w) with adequate mineral and vitamin levels for the animals. Diet and water were provided

ad libitum. Acute toxicity studies with Mengkudu fruit extract were performed in experimental rats. Graded doses of MFE (100, 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg body weight) were administered orally, and the animals were subsequently observed for 2 weeks. Changes in body weight, food consumption, hematological, macroscopic, and clinical biochemical findings, including the activities of enzymes, were noted. Dosage fixation studies were carried out by virtue of unequally long administration of graded doses of MFE (100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 mg/kg body weight), given to rats introduced into STZ induced hyperglycemia; it was found that the MFE shows its maximal antihyperglycemic effect at the concentration BMS 387032 of 300 mg/kg body weight managed orally for 30 days. Hence, the dosage was fixed at 300 mg/kg body

weight/rat/day and tracked for 30 days. Streptozotocin, 2-deoxy-2-3-(methyl-3-nitrosoureido)-d-glucopyranose, is by far the most frequently used agent (69%) in preparation of diabetic animal models for the study of multiple aspects of diabetes, and the dose required for inducing diabetes depends on the animal species, route of administration and nutritional status.13 The experimental animals were fasted overnight and diabetes was experimentally induced by intraperitoneal injection Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase of STZ with a single dose of 50 mg/kg b.w./rat. STZ was dissolved in freshly prepared 0.1 M cold http://www.selleckchem.com/products/SP600125.html citrate buffer pH 4.5.14 Since STZ is capable of inducing fatal hypoglycemia as a result of massive pancreatic insulin release, STZ-treated rats were provided with 10% glucose solution after 6 h for the next 24 h to prevent diabetogen induced hypoglycemia.15 On 3rd day, the development and aggravation of diabetes in rats was confirmed and rats with fasting blood glucose concentration more than 250 mg/dL were selected for the experiments. The animals were divided

into four groups, comprising a minimum of six animals in each group as follows: Group 1 – control rats. The ethanolic extract of M. citrifolia fruits was subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening by standard methods. 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 Blood glucose, hemoglobin and glycosylated hemoglobin were estimated according to the methods of Trinder,21 Drabkin and Austin,22 and Nayak and Pattabiraman23 respectively. Insulin level was measured in plasma using the sensitive rat insulin ELISA kit (Linco Research, Inc., St. Charles, MO) and the C–peptide assay was carried out by Rat C-Peptide RIA Kit. A portion of the liver and kidney tissues were dissected and washed immediately with ice-cold saline and were homogenized in 0.1 M Tris–HCl buffer (pH 7.4) for the assay of key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism.